The Girl
by Maige
Summary: My name is Kayla. I wish I hadn't found the blue box. Now, like the other Animorphs, I am plunged into a world of war, where you can't trust anybody. TobiasxOC?
1. Chapter 1: Into the War

Disclaimer: I do not own Animorphs, foo. :b

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My name is Kayla.

It's a pretty common name, really. There might have one somewhere in your school, or your class. Maybe even in your family. But all those Kayla's are probably leading ordinary lives at the moment. Just hanging with friends. Playing sports, or whatever their hobby is. Going to movies, being annoyed by siblings, worried about crushes, everything invovled in a normal life. They probably never wake up in the middle of the night, body slicked with sweat, horrible images flashing through their minds. Images of the horrors that the yeerks have created.

What are yeerks, you're probably wondering?

The yeerks are a form of parasite. They're basically little blind and deaf slugs. They seem harmless, but the moment they get near your ear canal, they're nothing but trouble. Yeerks climb into your ear, and to your brain. Then they flatten and squish themselves to fit the nooks of your brain. There, they have complete control over you. They read your memories like a book. They decide whether you're hungry, when you go to the bathroom, everything. You can still think. But you can't control anything. You're a prisoner of your own mind. Anyone could be a yeerk, and you wouldn't know. We call them controllers.

My friends and I are in a war with them. Not something like War of the Worlds, where people are getting disintegrated on the street. The Yeerks are much more subtle than that. They take the bodies of humans, and go walking down the street casually. Humans weren't the first to be taken by these parasites. The Hork-Bajir were taken against their will as well. The Taxxons are voluntary hosts.

My friends and I are called the Animorphs. We have the power to turn into any animal we touch. It's pretty cool at times.

But sometimes I wish I never moved near the original Animorphs. My close friend, Darren, lived with my mom and I, since his parents were abusive to him. We moved into the U.S. from Canada. Where the Animorphs were. We moved right in the city where they were fighting a silent war with the Yeerks.

I could've led a normal life.

If only I didn't find the blue box.

---

It was in the middle of February. I always seemed to go to a new school near the end of the year, which made it harder to find friends. What was even harder was that Darren as at home sick. I'd be starting off my new day alone. I felt as if I magically regressed to the age of five, suddenly scared to go to school. But Darren had assured me before I left.

"If anyone tries to be mean to you, or anything _else,_ I'll get him right in the kisser," he had said, swinging his fist weakly in the air. We both laughed, but his laugh turned into a hacking cough.

I smiled at the memory. He was really like the brother I never had.

I had just started walking to school from my new house. A slight breeze was floating by; nothing compared to the February's in Canada. Especially last year, where we had a snowstorm nearly every week.

The sound of wings flapping broke me out of my thoughts. I looked up just in time to see a hawk fly by overhead. It seemed to be in a hurry. I took notice of the patch of red on it's tail. I also took notice of something falling from it, not far ahead of me. It couldn't have been what I thought (and what any other human would think) is, since it was much to large. I trotted over to where it dropped. I blinked. It was just a tiny blue box. Small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. I picked it up carefully, turning it over, inspecting it. My thumb pressed against the side, suddenly pushing that side in. The box lit up. I yelped, dropping the tiny box, then backing up.

I watched in fasination as a small beam of light came up inches from the box, like a hologram from Star Wars. A face appeared on the beam of light. Just a face. Blue fur. No mouth. Two eyes where they're supposed to be, but then two extra eyes on stalks on the creature's head. The stalks turned this way and that. The creature's normal eyes were serious, yet they held a bit of fear. Then the creature spoke, it wasn't like I was hearing it with my ears. More like my mind.

This is Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul the hologram said, his voice loud and alert. I am a Andalite war-prince. This may be the last message I give out. Esplin, otherwise known as Visser Three, is after me. My fighter ship is severely damaged. We're nearing the planet Earth. Anyone who finds this message, please use the power this cube will give you to help defeat the yeerks. Touching this cube will give you the power to morph into any creature you acquire. A large crash was heard in the background, and the Andalite stumbled a bit. He regained his composure in impressive time. Please, we need to defeat the Yeerks. Earth is in great danger. And...tell my son, if you find him, that I love him. His name is Tobias- Before he could finish, the hologram wavered violently, before disappearing all together.

That left me incredibly confused.

I'm one of those people who believe in aliens and all that paranormal, strange stuff. But this was strange, even for me. I trotted back over to the blue box and picked it up. I only noticed now that a small string was attached to it, making it a necklace. Without really thinking, I hung the box around my neck and continued my walk to school.

Thinks just kept getting wierder from there.

----

The rest of the walk to my new school was as normal as any other. Kids were scattered here and there among the schoolyard, chatting and laughing. I suddenly felt small among all these strangers. My hand unconsciously rose to the blue box hung around my neck. Then I had that unsettling feeling of being watched. I turned my neck slightly, to see three people staring at me. Once my eyes connected with theirs, they all looked away. Two boys and one girl. They looked no older than me. One of the boys looked strangely beautiful. For some reason, he looked as out of place as I felt. The girl was tall, with gorgeous blond hair. I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous at her stunning appearance.

There was something odd about these three.

After seeing me, they all talked furiously with each other, in hushed tones. I strained my ears, but I only heard little bits of their conversation.

"She has-"

"-the same. Say. Ame."

"But David-"

I frowned tightly as the strangely attractive boy walked over to me. He opened his mouth in what I think was supposed to be a smile.

"Hello. I am a human boy, a student like you, and it isn't weird for me to be starting conversation with you," he said in a quiet voice. His eyes never seemed to blink.

I nodded at him uncertainly. "OK."

"My friends -fre. Ends. Friends- and I were wondering where did you get that box?" He pointed at the blue box around my neck. My hand reached up to it again, clutching it protectively

"Why do you want to know?" I asked, taking a step back from him. Why did he never blink..? I looked over his shoulder. The other boy and girl looked extremely nervous. I looked back at the boy speaking to me. Before he could answer, the bell rang.

"Got to go," I mumbled, rushing away from him. The last thing I heard from his friends before entering the school was:

"Ax, we really have to work on your talking skills."

----

The school day also went by normally. I didn't see those strange kids again. We were in different grades, thank god. I made a few friends.

But I couldn't stop thinking about the message that came from the box. It still hung around my neck. I hid the box in my shirt, so it wasn't showing. I don't know why, but it felt like I just had too.

By touching this box, I apparently could become any animal I touch.

I rushed out of the school in a hurry. I didn't want to see those kids again. But I had to test this thing. It may seem stupid, but curiosity was getting the better of me. I had to see if this was real or not.

There was a forest, some ways from the school, but I was used to walking long distances. It was located behind a Vet Clinic, I think. Something like that. I saw another red -tail as I walked to the forest. It looked at me for a moment with pericing eyes, but then flew off.

Then I saw a rabbit. It was sleeping inside a hole that was much too small for it. I reached forward with trembling fingers. The tips of my fingers lightly touched the rabbit's back, and I started to concentrate. The feeling was so wierd. It felt like part of the rabbit had started to flow within me. The rabbit opened it's tiny eyes, and looked up at me calmly. I expected it to run, but it didn't. It merely fell back asleep.

When it was done, I stood up, staring off into the distance. This was insane. That feeling was probably just my mind playing tricks on me. I closed my eyes and pictured the rabbit.

What happened next was the most amazing, yet terrifying moment of my life.

Fur started to sprout from my skin. The ground was getting closer, and my clothes were getting loose. Whiskers sprang from my face. I felt my ears slide up onto the top of my head, and they grew longer. My organs, bones, everything inside me started to move around or shorten. It felt sickening, but there was no pain. I fell onto all fours as my arms and legs shortened. My eyes went to the side of my head, and my sight dimmed a bit. But man, my hearing and smell was fantastic! My nose twitched non-stop.

I couldn't believe it. I was a rabbit.

Suddenly, without warning, I felt fear. Predator's could be all around me! I need to find a burrow to hide in!

I hopped around a bit, in circles, fear taking over me. A shadow loomed over me, and I would've screamed if I had a human mouth. It was a red tail. It's going to snatch me up and have me for dinner! I was about to hop away, but then the red-tail grabbed me with his talons. Surprisingly, it didn't squeeze hard, only enough to keep me where I was. The red-tail looked over at a cluster of bushes.

OK, guys. You can come out now.

The bushes rustled a bit, and out came five kids. Two of them I recognized from this morning. The other two were a boy and a girl. The girl was wearing muddy overalls, had short hair, and dark skin. The boy had long hair, and he was giggling. He smirked down at me.

"Don't worry. Ol' bird-boy here won't hurt you," he said in a mocking voice.

"Marco, shut up!" the blond hissed at Marco. She obviously wasn't a air-head, like I thought at first. "It's her first time morphing. You went berserk the first time too, you know. Especially in a morph with constant fear."

"I apologize, Xena," Marco replied, rolling his eyes.

My mind slowly came back as I peered over them. I was Kayla. Not a scared rabbit. I was human. The boy that hadn't spoke to me this morning walked over. He looked at the red-tail.

"OK, Tobias, I think you can let go now. I think she's calmed down."

I felt the talons let go. I almost sighed in relief. The boy then directed his eyes down to me.

"My name is Jake. We're the Animorphs. I'm sorry to say, but the moment you morphed, you officially signed up for a war."

* * *

I love Animorphs. Who doesn't love Animorphs? I don't really remember watching the show, because I was only 3 when I first watched it. I still love to read the books. I just hope my fanfiction will do justice for the great series.


	2. Chapter 2: What's a Yeerk?

Disclaimer: I still don't own Animorphs, foo.

Italics is thought speak. Sucks we can't use the original symbol used for thought speak. :/

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It took a moment for the Jake's words to process through my head.

If this was a few weeks earlier, I would be thinking that he deserves to be in a rubber room. Strait jacket and all.

But I had just changed into a rabbit. My normal physical form is now gone. And I've seen that blue aliens' message. It was so real. In this day and age, real-live animation and costumes aren't nearly that good. They don't look that real.

_She was the girl who was near the spot I dropped the blue box,_the red-tailed said. I peered up at him in shock. He stared back at me with piercing hawk eyes.

Another rustle in the bushes caught my attention. Some...creature walked out from within the bushes. His face looked freakishly like the alien from the message, except he looked younger somehow. Now that I could see his whole body, he looked like a blue centaur. Except his hands had one too many fingers. He looked sort of cute, in a way. Then I noticed a long, scorpion-like tail coming from his behind. On that tail was a blade that looked as sharp as a butcher knife. I knew this was not a creature you should mess with.

_Who are all you?!_ I demanded, hoping they could hear me. One of my back legs thumped hard against the ground.

"Whoa, chill out Thumper!" the boy called Marco exclaimed, raising his hands up like a shield.

"It's OK," the dark-skinned girl said soothingly. She had a really calming voice. "Just demorph, and we'll explain everything. It's easy to demorph. Just focus on your normal form."

I followed her instructions. I rose from the ground. My skin itched as the whiskers and fur seemed to go inside my skin. My clothes were set awkward on my body. I blushed and quickly adjusted the clothing. Then I turned to the 'Animorphs.' They all looked ordinary. Except for the alien, and Tobias, of course.

_Do you have the blue box?_ the blue alien asked, holding out his weak-looking arms.

"Um, yeah," I muttered, reaching into my pocket. I took out the tiny box, bringing it up to eye level. I then brought it to my chest protectively, suddenly skeptical. I didn't know if I could trust these people. "First, explain it all to me. How the heck did I manage to turn into a rabbit? And who's the guy who did the message on this box?"

The blue alien's eyes widened. All four of them. He turned to Jake. _Prince Jake! Elfangor must've put his message on there!_

I reconized the name right away. "Hey, that was the name of the guy who sent the message! He looked just like you, except older."

"We found it!" the blond exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. She grinned like a lunatic. "And now the Yeerks will be coming, right? They're probably going to hunt us down, know that we got it." Her grin grew even wider. "Well, bring it."

"At least she didn't say, 'lets do it'," Marco grumbled.

I cleared my throat loudly, trying to make them remember that I was here. "Yeah, hey guys? I have a million questions here. Who are these Yeerks?"

Marco turned to Jake. "We should cut her loose, right? Unlike us, she has a choice."

Jake stared Marco, with dark, serious eyes. "She...she has to be one of us now. She found the blue box."

"That really doesn't explain," the blond muttered, looking suddenly skeptical of me. She narrowed her eyes at me. "How do we know she's not going to end up like David? Betraying us and then getting turned into a _nothlit. _I really don't want to go through that again."

I frowned at her distrust. "Will you guys just explain this all to me already?!" I was starting to get impatient.

Jake sighed and rubbed his fingertips against his temples slowly. He suddenly looked so much older than he was. "I know this is hard to believe, but we're in a war. A silent, subtle war. Against a alien invasion. I know, it sounds crazy. Insane."

I couldn't help but grin. "Insane is my middle name."

"Oh great, _another _Rachel." Marco.

"Anyways," Jake continued, ignoring Marco, "These aliens aren't like in Star Wars or anything. They're a parasite. Little slugs. Harmless in their natural state, but once they get in a creature's head, they take control of that creature. They've gotten the Taxxons, Hork-Bajir, Gedds, some Leerans, and now humans are their new play-toy. Complete and utter control. We call them controllers. I...I was a controller at one point. My brother, Tom, is one of them."

"And this is our sad little army," Marco beamed, gesturing to our small group.

_Was that human sarcasm?_ the blue alien asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Yes, Ax."

_Ah._

I looked at Ax. "Andalite...impressive looking creatures."

Ax smiled strangley with his eyes. I didn't know how he did it.

"You sure seem...fine with it all," Jake commented, raising a eyebrow.

I shrugged non-chalantly. "I'm...Well, one of those people who believe in aliens. I always did. Now that I see they're actually real, it's not too big of a shock. I keep thinking of green little men, though," I added, studying Ax. "But...I knew with aliens there was trouble. Those Yeerks definately sound like trouble..."

"Are you sure?" the dark-skinned girl (who I later found out was Cassie) asked softly, furrowing her eyebrows. "This is a war. We've nearly died many times. And..." She looked over at Tobias. "Some of us haven't been the same since."

My eyes almost peered over at Tobias. "Is he stuck like that?"

_Yeah, I am. But, I got used to it after a while._

I giggled softly. "Well, be thankful that you're a red-tail, and not a cockroach or something. I think it would be awesome to be a hawk. Beautiful creatures..." I gazed at him.

"Ok!" Rachel practically yelled, then grinned sheepishly. "I mean, we should get her some morphs right? Flight, power morph, ecetra..."

Marco threw a deviant smirk on her direction. "Is Xena jealous because the new girl was hitting on _her _bird-boy?"

Rachel whacked him over the head. I grinned. I was liking her already.

-------

We were at Cassie's barn, which was also a clinic. She had a whole zoo of animals in there. From eagles, to foxes, to rabbits, to anything that would be in the forest. I stared over them, extremely interested in which animals I was going to acquire.

"We have a female hawk here," Cassie said, gently picking up a cage with a hawk in it. The hawk's left wing sagged limply to the floor of the cage.

Everyone was in the barn, sitting on lofts of hay, except for Tobias and Ax. Ax was in his oddly beautiful human form and Tobias was in the rafters. He was cautiously peering down at the female hawk.

"So all I have to do is touch her?" I asked uncertainly. I thought all animals were adorable, but unlike most people who think that way, I know that some of the cutest animals can rip you apart. Especially hawks, with their wicked talons.

Cassie nodded. "Once you touch her, she'll go into a trance, so there's no worry. Just stay calm."

I reached out to the hawk. My hand was trembling slightly. I set my hand lightly over the hawk's head, then concentrated. I found myself unconsiously stroking her feathers. I took my hand off, feeling the hawk's DNA run through my blood.

Jake grinned and stood up. "Well, now that you have a bird morph, you get to go on your first mission. It's just a spying mission, just so you know." He looked up at Tobias.

_We believe there's a entrance to the Yeerk pool at that new amusement park, _Tobias said, staring down at us with those menacing hawk eyes. _We just don't know where exactly._

"Yeerk pool?" I asked, frowning.

"The Yeerk's have to leave their hosts -host. Zuh- every three days," Ax explained. I tried to ignore his funny way of talking. "They go into the pool and soak up rays from the Kandrona. Kan. Drone. Ah. Kandrona. It's a miniature version of their home sun." He licked his lips. "The 'z' tickles the roof of my mouth."

Soon we were all outside of the barn, getting ready to morph. I was wearing a spare leotard that Rachel had gave me. Apparently, you couldn't morph in normal clothes. Only skin-tight. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the hawk. When I opened my eyes, I found myself shrinking. All my senses seemed to heightened at a alarming rate. A strange pattern of feathers grew over my skin like a Etch-A-Sketch, then turned 3D. My nose and lips grew as hard as nails and pushed outward, turning into a beak. My bones thinned and hollowed, making me lighter. My feet stretched into into dangerous talons. I excepted the hawk's instinct to go wild, but I managed to push it back down. I had a good mental control.

I turned my head to see a red tail, a falcon, a bald eagle, two ospreys, and a seagull. We looked like a raptor convention, with the expection of Marco.

I looked into the forest. I was amazing! My eyes noticed everything. The bugs crawling on the ground. Mice zipping in and out of holes, trying to stay clear of predators. I could hear it as well.

_OK, boys and girls, _Rachel said, spreading her massive wings. _Let's fly._

* * *

I'm trying to get the Animorph books I don't have. But, as my mom sees, there's only three available to order where she works. It sucks.


End file.
